Gordo de Bergerac
by Black Knight 03
Summary: In an effort to win Miranda's heart, Larry convinces Gordo to be his Cyrano. Will Larry's plan work or will it blow up in their faces? [MG]
1. Cyrano

Disclaimer – Disney owns Lizzie McGuire. Edmond Rostand wrote Cyrano de Bergerac the play, I have no idea who owns the rights to it now. Everything else is mine.

A/N – _"Thoughts" _, Miranda and Gordo are seniors in High School.

Chapter 1 - Cyrano

Gordo made his way through the crowded hallways, heading towards his locker. It was Friday and the end of a long day and week; he was looking forward to getting out for the weekend and just relaxing.

As he neared his locker, he found Ethan leaning against a nearby locker and an agitated Larry pacing back and forth.

Sidestepping Larry, Gordo glanced at Ethan. "What's with Larry?" he asked while spinning in the combination.

Ethan just shrugged, "He's been jumpy since lunch."

As he opened his locker and started exchanging books, Gordo heard Larry come to a stop behind him and clear his throat. "Gordo?" he asked, the nervousness evident in his voice.

Glancing over his shoulder, "Yea?"

"I need a favor," Larry asked as he wiped his hands on his pant legs.

Shutting his locker, "Ok." He turned around and leaned back against it, "What's up?"

Larry paused for a few moments, "Its Miranda," he finally said.

Ethan snickered and Gordo rolled his eyes. Larry has had a crush on the fiery Latina since Junior High, and he had created plan after plan to try and get her to fall for him. Unfortunately, none of them worked. It wasn't the Miranda didn't like him all together but rather saw him as just a friend.

Gordo rubbed his chin, trying to keep the smirk off his face. "So what's it going to be this time? Dozen roses in her locker? Midnight serenade?" he joked.

"You know the book Cyrano de Bergerac?" Larry asked him.

"Yea. I just finished reading it for english." Gordo suddenly started feeling uneasy about where this was going. "Why?"

"I need someone on the inside. Someone who knows what she wants, what she likes, what she's looking for in a boyfriend," Larry explained.

"I know that I'm going to regret this, but what's the favor?" Gordo asked slowly.

"I need you to be my Cyrano," Larry stated. Gordo closed his eyes, let out a groan, and started shaking his head. "No, listen. Instead of you feeding me lines to tell her, you would write some anonymous letters to her. Then after a few letters, I reveal to her that I'm her secret admirer."

"You've got to be kidding me," Gordo muttered under his breath.

"Please Gordo. Think about it. I wouldn't put you in such a position if I wasn't desperate. I've tried everything else," Larry pleaded with him.

Gordo rolled his eyes and started to walk away. Larry watched him, "Gordo?"

"I'll think about it," Gordo called over his shoulder.

Saturday afternoon, Gordo was sitting in the Digital Bean, nursing a strawberry smoothie. He was still trying to decide if he should help Larry out or not.

Miranda walked in and after scanning the room, she spotted Gordo sitting alone at a table. Making her way through the crowd, she could tell by the look on his face that he was oblivious to the world and in deep thought.

Grinning as she reached the table, she grabbed his drink from his hand and took a sip.

Noticing the drink was no longer in his hand, Gordo's head snapped up and he blinked a few times.

"What the…Hey. Get your own smoothie," he snapped at her with a grin as he grabbed the glass back.

Laughing a little, Miranda pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. "What were you thinking so hard about?"

"Uhh…Nothing really. Just going over some stuff in my head," he answered trying to cover up what he'd been doing." So what's up with you? Heard you had a hot date last night," Gordo said sarcastically.

"Ugh!" Miranda leaned back in the chair, "He was a typical jerk. Kept staring at my chest and all he wanted to do was make out during the movie."

Gordo snickered, which earned him a glare from Miranda. "Sorry but what do you expect? I mean the guys you go out with aren't exactly mental giants. I mean some of those winners make Ethan look like a Rhode scholar."

Miranda just rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that you have to look below the surface crap. Aren't you the one who had a crush on Kate? And don't you dare say it wasn't because of how she looked in a tight shirt and mini skirt," she said as she glared at him with a smug smile.

Gordo grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I like to think I've grown since then. So what would your ideal guy be?"

As Miranda described him, Gordo ignored the physical details that she started off with. When she started talking about the deeper stuff, was when he started to pay attention.

Sunday night, Gordo had made up his mind to accept Larry's favor. He knew he was taking a big risk; if Miranda found out what he was doing, she would take his head off.

As he sat at his desk, he was staring at a blank computer screen. He couldn't figure out what to write. Gordo was having a hard time picturing his best friend romantically.

_"Its got to be something simple but romantic and not too mushy,"_ he thought to himself as he pushed his chair back.

Pacing his room, he tried to come up with the right words_. "I mean, I've never thought about Miranda romantically,"_ he thought as he ran a hand through his hair.

He grinned as memories of a few dreams flooded into his mind. _"Ok. I've never, seriously thought of Miranda romantically."_

Sitting back down on the chair, he wheeled it back to the desk. _"I gotta pretend that I'm actually interested in her. I have to take this serious. If I really wanted Miranda to fall for me, what would I write?"_


	2. 1st Letter

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 2 - 1st Letter

Larry paced nervously in front of Gordo's locker, in an almost copycat of last Friday. Looking at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time, _"Where the hell is he? Its almost quarter of eight."_

Larry hadn't heard from Gordo since Friday afternoon, when he had asked him for the favor. He had been nervous ever since. On top of being unsure how Miranda would react to the letters, he was also worried that Gordo would tell him no, and the uncertainty was killing him.

"I think he was warm to the idea. I mean he didn't say no straight out. But it would put him an awkward position. I'm his friend but Miranda has been his best friend for like fifteen years."

Checking his watch again, he stopped his nervous pacing for a moment. _"If he was going to do it, wouldn't he have called me saying he was?"_ Letting out a grown, Larry leaned back against the metal lockers and closed his eyes. _"Where the hell is he?"_

Just as he thought it, he heard a familiar voice coming down the hall. Opening his eyes, he leaned forward and looked down the hall.

Letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, he watched Gordo walking towards him. He was with Ethan and they were talking about something. From the bits he could hear it was about basketball.

As Gordo reached his locker, he let out a big yawn as he spun in the combination. "Hey Lar."

"Hey Gordo." He waited a few seconds and then, "Are you going to do it?" Larry asked a little too excitedly.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Gordo snickered. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Come on Gordo. I need," Larry stopped mid-sentence and looked at Gordo for a moment. _"That sounded weird, even for Gordo. If I have to wait and see? That means he did it right?"_ "Does that mean you did it?"

Gordo shut his locker and turned to Larry. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Miranda came rushing up. Grabbing Gordo by the shoulders, she turned him around to face her and pinned him to the door.

"Gordo, do you know any guys that like me?" she asked fast with a slight hint of excitement.

"I know a couple who think you're cute. Why?" Gordo asked playing dumb.

Larry watched this exchange and tried to keep the smile off his face, so as to not tip off Miranda.

Letting go of Gordo, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small envelope. With an excited squeal, that caused the guys to flinch slightly, she handed him the envelope. "Someone left this in my locker."

Taking the envelope, Gordo pretended to study it. "Any idea who its from?"

Miranda shook her head no. "There's no name on it and I found it in my locker this morning when I came in."

_"That's where he was! Putting the note in Miranda's locker,"_ Larry thought to himself.

"Can I read it?" Gordo asked her.

Miranda shrugged. "Sure."

Opening the envelope, he pulled out a piece of folded paper. Unfolding the paper, he tried not to smirk as he read what was on it.

"Miranda. As I watch you from the shadows, I can't help but notice how beautiful you really are. Every time our eyes meet its like you take my breath away. I am too shy to tell you who I really am. You can just call me your secret admirer," Gordo said as he read from the note.

Looking up from the note to look at Miranda, Gordo tried his best not to snicker and keep a straight face. "Sounds like you have a stalker," he joked to Miranda. Larry glared at him and Miranda just backhanded his shoulder.

"You just don't have a romantic bone in your body Gordo," Miranda snapped back at him with smirk.

"You'd be surprised," Gordo muttered under his breath as he folded the note back up and put it back inside the envelope. "I'll look around and see if I can find out who your mystery man is," he told her as he handed her back the envelope.

"Thanks Gordo. I gotta go, I'll call you after school," she said as she started walking fast down the hall.

Gordo watched her walk away and then turned his attention back to Larry and Ethan.

"Dude. Where did you come up with that?" Ethan asked in obvious awe.

"I don't know. I thought it was a little too corny," Gordo answered sarcastically.

"Thank you. I owe you big time for this," Larry told him.

"Yes you do and let's get this straight, I did it for her, not you," Gordo told him as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Ok. But why?" Larry asked dumbfounded.

As the boys started walking towards their homerooms, Gordo told them about the string of crappy dates she had had recently. "I'm doing this because Miranda needs to be with someone who deserves her. Not some airhead who only wants to get in her pants."

"And you think that guy is me?" Larry asked him.

Gordo just shrugged, "You're better than some of the guys she's gone out with. I'd rather see her with you, than date another brainless twit."

"Thanks man. Whatever you want, just name it. I really owe you," Larry said as he slapped Gordo on the back. "You're a great brother," Larry joked with a grin.

Gordo forced a grin. "Yea. Well, I'll see you guys later," he said as he walked into his homeroom. _"Yea a great brother."_ As he took his seat, something kept nagging him about being considered Miranda's brother. _"Why don't I like the sound of that?"_


	3. Complications

love-angel-89 – Lizzie will be mentioned in this chapter and she'll show up in the next two. In the first two chapters, I would've just been forcing her in and I didn't want to do that.

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 3 - Complications

Gordo laid on his back, on top of his bed, and starred up at the ceiling. He had just finished the fourth letter and suddenly realized how tired he was. It was getting harder and harder for him to write the letters.

He had gotten a weird feeling after the first letter but he just pushed it aside as feeling a little guilty for deceiving Miranda like this, but eventually convincing himself that in the end this little white lie would be worth it. _"Miranda deserves a nice guy like Larry."_

But the nagging feeling kept growing and the more he tried to ignore it or brush it off, the more ill tempered he got. His patience was barely there anymore and he was starting to snap at everyone.

Gordo was getting frustrated at why he couldn't figure out what was going on with himself. He had always been a logical person; everything happens for a reason. But when something happens to him and he can't understand the reason, he gets frustrated.

He flinched slightly as he remembered his latest blowup. He was at the Digital Bean with Lizzie and Miranda. They were trying to figure out who Miranda's secret admirer was. They had been going through almost all the boys and he had made a side comment about how it figures how they were only thinking of the pretty boys.

Of course Miranda wouldn't let it pass and she snapped back saying how he would never do anything romantic like this. Well, that set him off and they quickly got into fight, yelling at each other. As Lizzie tried to break them up, the Manager kicked them all out.

Gordo stormed away and had bunkered himself in his room the rest of the day. He was torn by so many conflicting emotions. He was sorry at how angry he got at Miranda and wanted to apologize but another side of him was furious at both of them. _"Heck they even thought of Larry. Not once, did they think of me."_

Rubbing his hands across his face, he thought about that for a moment. _"Maybe Larry's right, I am just like a brother to her."_ Slowly sitting up, he happened to look at his dresser. On top of it, were a couple of pictures. One of them was a picture Lizzie had taken of Miranda and him.

Lizzie had gotten a new camera for her 17th birthday and dragged Miranda and him to the park so she could test it out. As they were fooling around, Miranda jumped on Gordo's back and laughingly demanded a piggyback ride. Lizzie had quickly snapped a picture of them fooling around. She had given them each a picture of the group she took.

Standing up, he walked over to the dresser and picked the picture up. _"I mean I only think of her as a sister, right?"_ he asked himself.

When he didn't agree with himself right away he growled in frustration. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered under his breath.

As he continued to look at the picture, his eyes slowly fell on Miranda's face. He had always thought one of Miranda's best features were her eyes. He would often tease her that when she was up to something, there would be like a sparkle in her eyes.

As he focused on her face, a stray and strange thought passed through his mind, _"I wonder what it'd be like to kiss her?"_

As soon as Gordo realized what he thought, he dropped the picture onto the dresser and his head snapped up. "What the."

Feeling a sudden chill, Gordo started to pace around his room. "No. I did not just think what it'd be like to kiss Miranda. We're just friends, best friends."

_"Like you and Lizzie were,."_ his subconscious taunted him.

"Shut up!" he yelled out loud. Letting out an angry growl, he quickly ran a hand through his hair. "That's it. I can't take it anymore."

The next morning at school, Gordo delivered the letter to Miranda's locker before she arrived and headed towards Larry's locker.

Seeing Larry by himself, he walked over and took a quick look around.

"Hey Gordo, what's up?" Larry asked him noticing the look on Gordo's face.

"Look. This secret admirer plan of yours worked. I'm done, its time for you to tell her you're the one writing them."

Larry thought about what he said for a moment. "Gordo, I'll make a deal with you. I just need one more letter." Gordo opened his mouth to protest but Larry cut him off and continued. "I'll hand deliver it and tell her I'm her secret admirer. Ok?"

Gordo bit his lip and took a deep breath. "Fine," he answered a little aggravated. "One more and that's it."

Gordo watched as Larry walk away and rubbed his temple. "Why do I feel we're playing with fire? It's worked so far but we can't keep pressing our luck."

"What luck?" a female voice said from behind him, causing Gordo to jump.

Quickly spinning around, he found Miranda standing a few feet away, looking at him curiously. "Nothing important. Me and Larry are working on a science project together," Gordo lied. "You know how Larry likes to play mad scientist," he joked.

Miranda snickered but the awkward tension still started to build. Gordo sighed and studied her for a moment.

"Gordo,"

"Miranda," They both said at the same time and snickered at themselves.

"You go first," Miranda told him.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm just a little overworked and a bit on edge."

This time Miranda sighed, "Apology accepted only if you accept mine. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'd be happy if whoever my mystery guy is, was half the guy you are."

Gordo grinned slightly, "Thanks." He looked around for a moment. "So you'd get another letter?"

Miranda smirked and titling her head slightly, studying Gordo for a moment. It made Gordo very uncomfortable. "How did you, never mind. Yea," she said excitedly as she pulled out the familiar envelope out of her pocket.

Gordo breathed a sigh of relief. As they started walking down the hall together, he glanced over at her. "Still have no idea who its from?"

Miranda shrugged, "Nah. I hope he reveals himself soon. I wanna start dating him."

"So even if he's not exactly like Ethan in looks, you'd still go out with him?"

Thinking about it for a moment before she answered, "Yea. I would. I mean the guy who wrote these letters is really sweet and anyone who sees me like this," she held up the letter, "deserves me liking them back just as much." She then grinned, "See you are rubbing off on me."

Gordo stifled a laugh but deep down he was trying to ignore how his heart practically jumped at what she said. _"Remember David, Larry is the one who is supposed to accept the credit for this, not you."_


	4. House Of Cards Comes Crashing Down

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 4 - House Of Cards Comes Crashing Down

Gordo sat in his ninth period A.P. English class, his head propped up by his hand. He was completely exhausted. Gordo barely slept at all last night and what little sleep he got, he couldn't stop dreaming of Miranda.

As he stared blankly out the window, Gordo ignored his teacher who was up front lecturing. As the bell rang, Gordo flinched slightly.

"Gordo?" Larry asked him cautiously.

Looking up, Gordo saw him standing in front of his desk. Taking a shaky, steadying breath, Gordo stood up. Grabbing his bag, he picked it up and put it on the desk.

"You alright?" Larry asked him, now concerned. He had been noticing him acting weirder every day and today he had barely said anything at all.

"Just tired," he said simply as he started to dig inside his bookbag. After a few seconds, Gordo pulled out an envelope. "This is it," he said handing Larry the letter.

"Right. I'm going to deliver it now," Larry told him as he took the letter. "You sure you're ok?"

Gordo glared at him, "I'm fine."

Larry took a step back not wanting to tick him off. "Ok, ok. I'm off, wish me luck," he said as he left the classroom.

Gordo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he grabbed his bag and started to walk out, Gordo suddenly got a weird feeling. A feeling like this was going to blow up in his face. He just wasn't sure how.

Larry turned the corner and saw Miranda standing at her locker with Ethan and Lizzie. A small smile tugged at his lips, _"Here goes nothing."_

Slowly walking over to them, his eyes remained glued on Miranda. "Hey guys," he called as he walked up.

"Hey Larry," Lizzie answered.

"Miranda," Larry waited until she was looking at him. "I've got something for you."

"What?" she asked curiously and then paled slightly as she saw him pull out an envelope. _"No! Not Tudgeman!"_

Larry either was oblivious to the look on her face or was just ignoring it because he was grinning like a fool. He handed her the letter and watched her read it.

As Miranda finished reading, she bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything stupid. _"I told Gordo I didn't care what the guy looked like and I'm gonna keep my word."_

Lizzie took the letter from her hand and read it aloud, "Miranda. I can't keep my identity a secret any longer. I need to tell you that I love you. I'm your secret admirer. Will you go out with me?"

_"Maybe there's still a chance. Maybe he just delivered it."_ "Larry?" she asked but knew by the huge smile on his face that he was her secret admirer.

"Miranda, will you go out with me?" Larry asked, one could practically hear the hope in his voice.

_"Its just a date, what's the worse that could happen."_ Letting out a small sigh, "Larry, I'd," Before she could finish she was interrupted.

Ethan had just finished re-reading the letter over Lizzie's shoulder. "Wow. Gordo is incredible. I should get him to write some letters to Kate."

Lizzie and Miranda quickly spun around and faced him, a look of panic quickly spread over Larry's face. Ethan just looked confused, "Did I say that out loud?" he asked sheepishly.

"What are you talking about?" Lizzie asked him.

"Nothing," Ethan quickly answered trying to act like he didn't say anything.

Larry tried to slip away but was suddenly grabbed around the neck and slammed hard into the lockers. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking at a very angry Miranda. "What the hell does Gordo have to with the letters?" she practically growled as she increased the pressure on his neck.

Before he could think, the whole story came pouring out. How he had read Cyrano de Bergerac, came up with the idea, asked Gordo the favor, and how he was the one writing the letters.

Miranda let go of Larry's neck and starred of into space for a moment.

Lizzie was worried, "Miranda?"

Miranda just spun around and brushed past Lizzie and Ethan. Lizzie could see the fury in Miranda's eyes. She knew where she was going. Lizzie quickly put the letter back in the envelope and stuffed it into her pocket. She then ran after Miranda.

As Larry rubbed his neck, he glared at Ethan. "How hard is it to keep your mouth shut?" Larry snapped at him.

"Sorry man. It just slipped."

Larry rolled his eyes, "Yea, well, tell that to Gordo."

Gordo had just finished at his locker and was just closing it when he felt a hand roughly grab his shoulder. Spinning around, he suddenly felt a punch slam into his stomach.

"Umph!" Gordo's arms quickly wrapped around his stomach and he dropped to one knee.

As he tried to suck in some air, he slowly looked up. Gordo was surprised to see Miranda standing over him but the second he saw her eyes he knew what happened. _"No! Damnit!"_

As he continued to look at her eyes, he watched them slowly change from incredible anger to incredible sadness. As he saw tears start to form, his heart felt like it was breaking and he felt like scum.

Trying to stand, Gordo stumbled back and leaned against his locker. Miranda just took off, sprinting down the hall. She didn't want anyone, especially Gordo, to see her cry.

He saw Lizzie running up. She stopped in front of him, "Are you alright?" she asked seeing him in pain.

Taking in a quick breath, he spoke through clenched teeth, "I'm fine." He slowly slid down to the floor. "Go find Miranda. Please," he pleaded with her.

Lizzie studied him for a moment and shook her head but did as he asked.

As Gordo sat there, Miranda's eyes haunted him. "Stupid!" he snarled at himself as he threw his head back violently and slammed it against his locker door.


	5. Forgiveness Is Never Easy

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 5 - Forgiveness Is Never Easy

Lizzie slowly opened Miranda's bedroom door and looked inside the room. She found Miranda lying on her bed, facing away from her, and staring at the wall. Lizzie walked over and sat on the other edge of the bed.

"You ok?" she asked softly.

Miranda just snorted and wrapped her arms around herself. Lizzie sighed and looked at her face. Miranda's eyes were red and there were tear tracks down her cheeks. Lizzie shook her head, "Will you listen to me for a second without getting mad?"

Miranda just shrugged her shoulders and continued to stare at the wall.

Taking a deep breath, Lizzie started talking. "What Gordo did was horrible but you know he would never intentionally hurt you. He must've had his reasons for doing something this stupid."

Miranda looked over her shoulder and glared at Lizzie. "How the hell can you defend him? He made me look a complete idiot!" she snapped at her.

"Mir, do you remember in Junior High when Gordo was trying to tutor Ethan and we kept interrupting them because we wanted Ethan to notice us?" Lizzie said slowly.

Sitting up, Miranda nodded. "And he called us stupid."

"Because we used him to get something we wanted and didn't care what we did to him. How do you think that made him feel?"

"This is completely different," Miranda snapped again.

"Yes, the situation is different. But we've abused his friendship in countless ways for as long as I can remember, how many times has Gordo abused our friendship?"

"Rarely," Miranda muttered under her breath.

Lizzie grinned slightly as she noticed Miranda moving away from angry and upset to just upset. "Look, I'm not defending what he did. I think what he did was stupid. But Gordo has been our friend for years and he would never try and hurt you. I'm not saying forget everything and let's go back to normal but give him a chance to apologize and explain."

"So what should I do?" Miranda asked softly, the anger disappearing from her voice.

"Talk to Gordo, let him grovel at your feet for your forgiveness," Lizzie joked with a smile.

Miranda snickered and grinned a little. "Why should I make the first move?"

"Cause it'll take weeks if you don't. You know Gordo; he'll go into hiding and brood over this for days. Plus, if you force the issue now, it'll give him less time to come up with an excuse and you'll get a real answer."

"I'll do it tomorrow. Right now, I just don't want to see him," Miranda said as she laid back down, this time on her back.

"Ok," Lizzie said as she reached over and flipped on the radio and then leaned back against the wall at the head of the bed.

True to her words, Miranda and Lizzie didn't see or hear from Gordo all day at school. Ethan had apologized and Miranda told him he did nothing really wrong aside from keeping the secret from her. Larry on the other hand, spent all day apologizing and trying to keep out of Miranda's swing range. Miranda would forgive him eventually, but right now she didn't want to talk to him.

That afternoon, Miranda found herself standing in front of Gordo's bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened it and quietly entered the room.

She found Gordo with his back to her, working on something at his desk. As he started talking to himself, it was all she could do to keep quiet or run from the room.

"Damn it David, think," Gordo snarled at himself. "I knew I shouldn't have done that stupid idea. It's fucked up everything."

Miranda watched as Gordo rested his forehead against his palms.

"What the hell can I say to make everything right?"

"Try the truth."

Gordo slammed whatever he was working on shut, jumped out of his chair and spun around in surprise. "Miranda," he said breathlessly and his voice cracking.

"Yea," Miranda said looking at him with an expressionless face.

Gordo opened his mouth to say something but then stopped. He studied her for a moment and sighed. "Sit down please. I need to tell you something." Miranda sat down on the bed and looked up at Gordo, waiting for him to start.

"I..." he started but trailed off. Gordo ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to her. "I never wanted to hurt you. I've watched those idiots you go out with treat you like a piece of property. Larry's a nice guy, beneath the weird exterior, and he would treat you the way you should be treated."

Miranda looked at him for a moment. "How should I be treated?" She watched in amusement as Gordo's face suddenly become flushed.

"Uh…I...err," Gordo stuttered and then cleared his throat. "Just better then you have been," he answered as he looked at the wall. "I'm sorry about the letters. I just wanted you to be with someone who would treat you right. I thought that if I did those stupid letters and you got together with Larry, you'd be with someone who knows how special you are."

The corners of Miranda's twitched into a smile but she fought it off and just nodded. Gordo looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know you didn't. I don't exactly forgive you, at least not yet anyway. But we've been through too much to let this break us up," Miranda told him. She then snickered, "You grovel well," she said sarcastically. They shared a nervous smile and Gordo gave her a light hug while apologizing again.

She then watched as Gordo glanced over at his desk, then back at Miranda, then back at the desk. Miranda looked at him curiously, "What?"

Gordo took a deep breath and walked over to his desk. Picking something up, he walked back and as he sat down next to her again, he handed it to her. "I want you to have this."

"Cyrano de Bergerac," she read aloud from the cover. "This where Larry got his plan from right?" she asked Gordo, who nodded. Just as she was about to open the book, he stopped her.

"I put an inscription in there that I don't want you to read right now. You're still ticked at me and it would be misunderstood, especially given the circumstances," Gordo told her.

She looked at him oddly, "Then when can I read it?"

Gordo paused for a few seconds, thinking of the right words. "Sometime in the future. When all this is just a memory."

"It better be worth the wait Gordo," she told him half serious, half sarcastically.

Gordo swallowed the big lump in his throat. "It will be," he said softly.


	6. Roxanne Makes Her Move

Readers/Reviewers – I appreciate the reviews I've been getting, thanks. Also, the tormented soul warning is in effect, lol. Fluff ahead.

A/N – _"Thoughts" _, Miranda and Gordo are now seniors in college

Chapter 6 - Roxanne Makes Her Move

Lizzie lounged on her bed writing in a notebook when she heard her dorm room door open. The trio was in there senior year at UCLA; while Miranda and Lizzie shared a dorm room, Gordo had a small apartment off campus.

Looking over the edge of the notebook, she watched Miranda walk in. She grinned at her best friend and roommate, "How was your date?"

Miranda glanced over at her with a scowl on her face and then walked over to her dresser. "Horrible." she said as she was taking off her jewelry. Grabbing her pajamas, she walked into their bathroom.

Lizzie moved to the foot of her bed and waited for Miranda. A few minutes later, Miranda came walking out, "I swear I must be a magnet for drunken frat boys."

Lizzie snickered as she watched Miranda brush out her hair. "Can I borrow your de Bergerac book?"

"Why?" Miranda asked as she looked at Lizzie's reflection in a mirror over her dresser.

Lizzie snickered again. Ever since Gordo had given her the book, she had been very protective of it and used it to hold the notes that Gordo had written four years ago. Even though they weren't written under the best terms, she kept them. Miranda never really understood why she couldn't bring herself to throw the letters away. But once she got over the sting of the plan, she was glad she kept them.

"I need to write a paper on a piece of classic literature," Lizzie told her.

"Alright," Miranda said reluctantly. "Just be careful with it."

"Yes Mommy," Lizzie teased her.

"Liz," Miranda warned as she glared at her.

Lizzie laughed softly, "I know, I know," she said as got up and walked over to Miranda's desk.

"And be careful with the letters."

As Lizzie picked up the book, the letters stuck out like bookmarks. Trying not to laugh out loud, she carefully took the letters out of the book and put them in a drawer in the desk.

Walking back, she sat down on her bed and opened the book. When Lizzie gasped, Miranda spun around. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Lizzie said defensively. "Have you ever actually open this thing?"

"No. I know Gordo wrote an inscription in it but I promised him I wouldn't read it right way and I guess I just forgot about reading it," Miranda said as she sat on her own bed and faced Lizzie. "Why?"

"I think you should read it," Lizzie said with a smile as she handed her the book.

Miranda rolled her eyes and took the book. Opening the book, she started to read the inscription aloud.

"Miranda,

After what I've done, you deserve nothing but the truth. I never meant to hurt you; I care about you too much to do that. I agreed to write the letters for you because I thought it would give you someone who would treat you right. As I was writing the letters something went wrong, I had trouble writing them. At first I thought it was just seeing you romantically, I've always seen you like a sister. Then I thought it was cause I was deceiving you. But then I realized what was happening and it scared me. These letters unlocked something in me, feelings for you that I didn't even know I had. That's why I want, and need, to tell you the truth. Everything I wrote in those letters was the truth. That's the way I really see you, I just never realized it. The reason why I wanted you to wait to read this is because I was scared how you would react. Writing those letters made me face something and I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you to your face but like I said you deserve the truth. I love you.

David."

"Wow," was all Lizzie could say. She watched in amusement as Miranda's mouth just hung open as she reread it over and over. "Miranda?"

Miranda's head snapped up and she snapped out of her daze. "Uh?"

"You ok?"

"I don't know," Miranda answered. At the moment, she couldn't really process anything. After reading the inscription, her mind and heart decided to declare war on each other.

Later that night, Miranda was lying in her bed, staring into the darkness. Slowly a smile tugged at her lips as she came to a conclusion about her and Gordo, and started developing a plan.

The next morning, Miranda shook a sleeping Lizzie awake.

Lizzie groaned and rolled over to face her. "What?" she mumbled keeping her eyes tightly shut, a little annoyed she was waking her up.

"Do you have a problem with me dating Gordo?" Miranda asked her straight out.

Lizzie's eyes snapped open and she sat up, "What?"

"Do you,"

"I know what you said. You want to date Gordo?" Miranda nodded. "I say go ahead. Me and Gordo had our chance," Lizzie told her with a grin.

"Thank you," Miranda said hugging her tightly. "I need a favor."

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Lizzie sat up. "What?"

At the same time, Miranda had reached back to her bed and grabbed something. "Can you deliver this to Gordo?" she asked handing her a book.

Lizzie arched an eyebrow at her, "You're gonna give him a copy of Cyrano?"

"Yea. Can you give it to him?"

"Sure. I can go over to his apartment after my noon class," Lizzie answered. "I take it you have some kind of plan."

"Of course," she told Lizzie as she grabbed a soft suitcase and started stuffing some clothes into it. "After my morning class, I'm gonna head home for the weekend."

Lizzie nodded, stood up and walked over to her. She had an idea of what Miranda was going to do. "Good luck," she said as she hugged Miranda before going to the bathroom to shower.

Miranda finished packing and grabbing the suitcase and her book bag, she headed towards the door. Pausing for a moment, she took a deep breath, _"I hope this works."_

That afternoon, Gordo had just gotten back to his apartment from his internship at a movie studio. He had planned to drop off his gear and then head out to lunch. As he showered and finished changing his clothes, there was a knock on his door.

Opening it, he smiled at Lizzie. "Hey Liz," he said stepping away from the doorway. "I was just about to get lunch, you eat yet?" Gordo asked as he grabbed his sneakers and put them on.

Lizzie stood in the doorway and watched him with a smile. "Sorry Gordo, but you're not gonna have time."

"Uh?" Gordo said to her.

Lizzie handed him the book, "You better not screw this up," she told him with a grin. She then left, closing the door behind her.

"What the hell was that?" Gordo mumbled to himself as he shook his head and looked down at the book. "Cyrano de Bergerac?"

He then opened it and a small smile spread on his lips. _"My Cyrano. Your words have touched my heart. Find me Saturday at noon where we first met. I want to talk to you. Your Roxanne."_

_"She must've finally read it,"_ he mused to himself. Quickly grabbing a duffel bag, he started to shove clothes in it. As he did, he was thinking of where he was supposed to meet her. _"Where did we first meet?" _He smiled to himself as he remembered how he met Miranda.

Walking out of the room and down the hall, the smile remained planted on his face. _"I wonder what she's up to?"_


	7. How It Started

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 7 - How It Started

Miranda sat on top of a picnic table in the park near the playground. As she sat there waiting for Gordo, she watched a couple of little children running around the playground yelling at each other and laughing. Miranda couldn't help but smile as she remembered how when they were little, this playground was like a second home to them.

She slowly tapped her foot on the bench. Patience was never her strong suit. For what seemed like hundredth time today, Miranda self-consciously looked over her outfit. She was wearing a pair of tight, black, low cut jeans with two chains hanging off them, a plain black shirt with sheer long sleeves, and a pair of black, ankle high, heeled boots.

Looking back up and scanning the area, her tapping on the bench increased as she started to get nervous. _"Maybe he won't show. Its been almost four years."_ Miranda brushed her hair over her shoulder and she looked down at the ground in front of her. "Maybe he forgot where to go."

"Its hard to forget a girl trying to take your head off," a voice said from behind her. Gordo grinned as Miranda jumped slightly at his voice.

Miranda smirked, "I wasn't trying to take your head off, I was trying to fly."

As Gordo walked up to her, Miranda let her eyes wander over him. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a gray shirt with black Japanese letters on it, and sneakers. "So Roxanne," he said with a grin, "I got your note."

Miranda smiled shyly and looked over at the playground, "You remember when we first met?"

"Yea. Not everyday a girl tries to fly and crashes into me," Gordo joked and they both laughed as they remember how they met.

- - - - -

Gordo and Lizzie were five years old and it was the Saturday before they were going to start nursery school. Mrs. McGuire could tell that her daughter was nervous about going and decided to take them and two year old Matt to the park.

As they neared the playground, Mrs. McGuire turned Lizzie and Gordo loose. "Stay close you two," she called after them as she walked with Matt over to the sandbox.

Lizzie reached out and grabbed Gordo's hand. "Come on Gordo. I want to play on the monkey bars," she said as she pulled Gordo behind her.

As they walked across the grass towards the playground, Lizzie squeezed Gordo's hand. "Gordo. Do you think we'll have fun in nursery school?" she asked him, a little nervousness in her voice.

"Of course."

Lizzie turned to him, "How do you know?"

"Cause we'll be together. We always have fun," Gordo told her with a grin.

Lizzie smiled back at him; whenever she was nervous about something, she usually turned to Gordo for strength. "Right." Lizzie let go of his hand and speed up a little. "Come on Gordo. Hurry up."

"Why are you in such," Gordo's words were cut short.

Lizzie suddenly heard a collision and a girl crying. Spinning around fast, she saw Gordo laying on his back and a girl about a foot away rolling on her back holding her arm. "Mommy!" Lizzie screamed as she rushed over to Gordo.

Gordo just laid there dazed. His body was numb and he wasn't sure what happened. All he knew was he was talking to Lizzie and then felt something crash into him, knocking him down and the breath out of him.

"Lizzie! What happened?" Mrs. McGuire asked her as she came running up with Matt in her arms.

"I don't know," she told her as tears started to fall. "Is he ok?" Lizzie asked sniffling.

"Miranda!" another woman shouted as she came running up.

The little girl who was rolling around holding her arm, cried out, "Mommy!"

Mrs. Sanchez knelt down next to her daughter and carefully felt her arm. "What did I tell you about jumping from the swing." she lectured Miranda. Miranda just winced as her mom touched her arm. Mrs. Sanchez sighed softly, "Nothing's broken. You're going to have a big bruise though." Mrs. Sanchez looked over at Mrs. McGuire. "Is he ok?"

The two mothers smiled at each other. "Yea," Mrs. McGuire said as she helped Gordo sit up, as he held the side of his head. "Just banged his head but Gordo has a thick skull." Lizzie quickly wrapped Gordo in a hug from behind.

Mrs. Sanchez looked back at her daughter. "Miranda."

Miranda sighed and rubbed her arm. Before looking over at the boy she hit, her eyes met Lizzie's. Lizzie glared back at her for hurting her Gordo; she was furious. Miranda looked at Gordo. "I'm sorry."

"Its ok," Gordo told her.

"Gordo?" Lizzie said to Gordo.

"Its ok," Gordo reassured Lizzie.

"Why don't you kids go play," Mrs. McGuire suggested.

As everyone stood up, Lizzie and Miranda eyed each other cautiously. Mrs. McGuire with Matt walked away with Mrs. Sanchez to talk.

Miranda looked at Gordo, "Gordo?"

Gordo nodded, "Lizzie calls me that. Its short for Gordon." Gordo watched the girls continue to eye each other, not really sure what to make of the other. "Come on," he said grabbing Lizzie's hand. "Let's play on the jungle gym," he said looking at Miranda.

"Ok," Miranda said cautiously.

By the end of the day, the three of them had moved past the incident and were slowly becoming friends.

- - - - -

Gordo laughed softly, "My head hurt for like a week afterwards."

Miranda smirked at him and got up off of the picnic table.

"Poor baby," she said as walked up to him. Standing a few inches away, their eyes locked. Miranda bent forward a little and kissed Gordo's forehead. Keeping her eyes locked with his, "Better?"

Gordo grinned at her, "Now you're just mocking me."

Miranda laughed, "Just a little." Slowly reaching out, Miranda trailed her fingertips down his forearm until she reached his hand. Taking his hand, "Take a walk?"

"Sure," Gordo said as he intertwined his fingers with hers. They walked away from the playground and started to wander around the park, together.


	8. Truths Revealed

Readers/Reviewers – Thanks for reading this and I appreciate the reviews. If anyone has a question about why I did something or just have a question in general, just ask.

supergirljen – Thanks for beta reading.

tormented soul – Thanks for editing and helping me create the "new" ending.

I3itterSweet – In Chapter 5, I wrote that Miranda would forgive him but it'd take some time. Since from Chapter 5 to Chapter 6, I jumped roughly four years ahead, the reader doesn't see her forgive him. But what you said got me thinking (which is never a good thing, lol) and I decided to add something about it into this chapter.

Hermione-Granger17 – Thanks for pointing out the mistake, I've fixed it.

A/N – _"Thoughts"_

Chapter 8 - Truths Revealed

After just wondering around the park together for about an hour or so, Miranda and Gordo headed over to the Digital Bean for some food. They had both skipped lunch and were hungry.

As they sat at one of the tables eating, they fell into a comfortable silence. After taking a bite of her cheeseburger, she glanced at her blueberry smoothie and then grinned. Swallowing, she quickly reached out, stole Gordo's chocolate milkshake and took a drink.

"Hey," Gordo said trying not to laugh, "Get your own." Miranda just grinned as she put the cup down.

In between bites of his cheeseburger, "You know we never did talk."

Miranda grinned a little and looked up at him "Not here."

After finishing off their food, Miranda lead Gordo outside and down the street.

"Rand, where are we going?" Gordo said walking a few feet behind her.

"Home," Miranda called over her shoulder and reached out behind her for his hand.

"Why are we," he started to ask, taking her hand.

"When we get there, I'll explain everything."

After a ten-minute walk, they finally reached the Sanchez's. Miranda lead them around the side of the house and into the backyard. On the deck in the backyard, was a porch swing. Walking over to the swing, they sat down.

Turning slightly, he put his arm on the back of the swing and propped his head up with his hand. He watched Miranda look out at the grass, her eyes having a far away look to them. Using her foot, Miranda started to gently rock the swing.

Miranda looked over at Gordo and saw him watching her. Embarrassed, Miranda quickly looked down at the ground and some of her hair partially hid her face.

"Rand?" Gordo asked softly, grinning.

Miranda took a deep breath but still looked down at the ground. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Gordo knew what she was asking and knew not to play dumb now. "I was scared about how you would react. Even though you didn't say anything, I knew you were pissed at me for a long time. I was scared that if I told you the truth, I'd either completely destroy our friendship or we'd end up doing something we'd regret. I'd done enough damage. I figured if enough time passed, you could handle the truth and it wouldn't completely screw up our relationship."

Miranda nodded; she understood his reasons, she even agreed with them. Didn't mean she liked it though. It had taken her a few months to be able to stand seeing Larry and a little longer to even forgive him. Even though they were friends again, she didn't have the same amount of trust in him she once did. Gordo was even harder to completely forgive, especially because he was her best friend. It had taken awhile but she had finally moved past it and their friendship had almost fully repaired itself.

"Did you mean what you wrote in the book?" she asked softly.

Gordo let out a small sigh and ran his hand through his hair. _"I knew I'd have to deal with this sooner or later."_ "Yea I did. When Lizzie and me broke up, it really hurt. And seeing her everyday and trying to be friends, really didn't help. I promised myself I'd never date someone that close again. I figured I'd never really have to worry cause you're the only one who was as close. We were like brother and sister."

Without really thinking, Gordo reached out and brushed back the hair that was hiding her face. "Then Larry asked me to write those damn letters. It was like I found something that I didn't even know was there. Suddenly I was finding myself falling for you, hard. I was getting angry because I couldn't understand why it was happening. We'd been friends for over sixteen years and it wasn't until then, that I started seeing you as more."

Shifting positions, Gordo broke eye contact and looked down a little embarrassed. "I mean I've always been attracted to you." As Miranda smiled, Gordo got more uncomfortable and embarrassed. "But I never really thought what it'd be like to date you. Then when I was writing those letters, all these feelings started to come out. It was like something buried deep down was finally being unlocked. When Larry's plan unraveled, you deserved to know the truth. The whole truth."

Miranda studied him for a few moments. "I guess I should be honest too. When we were growing up, I'd sometimes wish I were Lizzie. I'd have the guy who would worship the ground I walked on, do anything to just make me smile or laugh, who'd put me up on a pedestal and make me the center of their universe."

She suddenly looked at the ground, it was her turn to be embarrassed again. "I wanted you to like me the way you liked Lizzie. But eventually I realized that it'd never happen and I was happy just being friends. I argued with you a lot because I wanted to prove to you and to myself that I was smarter than most of the people around us. Something I had that Lizzie didn't. Then when the letters started coming, I was thrilled that I finally found the guy who liked me like that back."

Miranda looked up at the sky, then turned to face him and sat Indian style on the swing. "After I found out you wrote the letters, I was hurt when I found out why you wrote them but a part of me really wished you saw me like that. Then I read the inscription." Taking a deep breath, "I need to know something."

"What?" Gordo asked turning to face her.

"Do you…Do you still feel that way?" she asked, the nervousness coming out in her voice.

"I don't know," Gordo said a little apprehensively. "I've spent all this time trying to bury all those feelings again. I don't know if its worth the risk letting them out again. I already damaged our friendship once. I don't want to gamble on it again."

"What if I was willing to take that risk?" Miranda asked him.

"Maybe you are but I'm still not sure. Its just not that simple Rand. I've spent years imagining worst case scenarios and they scare me. I don't want to loose you as a friend."

Miranda studied him for a moment, letting his words sink in. "Gordo. You and Liz dated and broke up, yet are still best friends." Gordo was about to interrupt but Miranda knew he was going to say it was different circumstances, so she just shushed him so she could continue. "Falling in love with someone is always a gamble. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Now that I know, I don't want to go through my life thinking what if." Miranda rubbed her hand over her mouth and grinned at him, "Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course," Gordo answered immediately.

"And I want you to be happy too." Miranda moved down the swing so she was sitting right next to him, "I really believe that if you gave us a chance, we could be really happy together."

"I really want to believe that. But it took a lot of effort to repair things when me and Lizzie," he started to say.

"Gordo."

"Yea."

Miranda took his hand, "Shutup," she said half sarcastically, half seriously. "You're rambling, stop fighting this and just let it happen."

"But," Gordo started.

Miranda rolled her eyes, leaned in and cut him off with a kiss. Gordo looked at her stunned but with a smile tugging at his lips.

"You really think this is gonna work?" he asked after a bit.

"Don't know," Miranda said shrugging, "But it'd be one hella of a ride," she added with a grin.

Gordo grinned back at her and started to lean in. Just before he kissed her, Gordo whispered to her, "If you're willing to try, so am I."


End file.
